Cigarette and match package



July 14, 1959 A. GALLO CIGARETTE AND MATCH PACKAGE Filed April 7, 1958 2K m .m. m 4 4 4 0 o E I a a 4 w M 8 n m w A fivbil W wMNMw United StatesPatent CIGA REI'DE AND MATCH PACKAGE Alfredo Gallo, Miami, Fla.

Application April 7, 1958, Serial No. 726,756 3 Claims. (Cl. 206-48)This invention relates to smokers articles and more particularly to acombined cigarette package and match container.

An object of the invention is to provide improvements in cigarettepackages and particularly the now popular cigarette box. Theimprovements involve a structure that includes matches on the frontthereof so that when the box is opened to obtain a cigarette, a flap inthe front of the box also opens, exposing the matches which may beignited by striking them below the matches as in any ordinary book ofmatches or on the bottom or sides of the cigaretter box. In this way thepurchaser of a package of cigarettes has automatically with thecigarettes his matches contained neatly, orderly and conveniently.

One of the important features of the invention is the flap at the frontof the box which automatically opens exposing the matches whenever theuser opens the box to remove a cigarette from the box. In this way thereis the simultaneousness of action when the top of the box is opened. Thetop serves the double purpose of maintaining the closure flap in theclosed position and covering the ends of the cigarettes in the box.

Another important feature of this invention is the organization of thematches enabling them to be placed in a thin volume. The matches areattached to strips, as are ordinary book matches, but the matches are ofalternately short and long lengths, and where the heads of the matchesare adjacent to each other, they are flush or coplanar so that theyremain in a single row instead of the ordinary double or triple row asin ordinary book matches. This is made possible by a special shape forthe ends of the matches whereby the sulphur is built up on a thinnerpart of the match stems. The required amount of sulphur is supported atthe ends of the matches but yet the sulphur does not objectionably bulgeto the left or right, front or rear of the matches.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a package constructed in accordancewith the invention and in the closed position.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of the package of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the package in Figure 1 but showingthe package in the open condition.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 4-4of Figure 2 and showing the special construction of the matches.

In the accompanying drawings there is a package which is preferably abox-type container of stiff cardboard or the like. It has two sides 12and 14, a bottom 16 and a rear wall 18. The upper edges 20 and 22 of icesides 12 and 14 are sloped downwardly and forwardly toward the openfront of the package 10 (Figure 3). The open front has a closure 24hinged by an integral hinge 26 to the front edge of the bottom 16 of thepackage. The top edge 28 of the closure 24 is sloped to'an apex 30 atits center. Accordingly, the closure can be swung from the packageclosing position (Figure 1) to the package open position (Figure 3) byswinging it downwardly about the integral hinge 26.

The top 34 of the package has a front wall 36, two side walls 38 and 40together with a back wall 42. The back wall has an integral hinge 44connecting it to the upper edge of the back wall 18 of the body of thepackage. Integral hinges 44 and 26 are made by having a fold linepressed or otherwise made from the weakened or bendable line across theintegrally joined parts of the package. The edges of sides 38 and 40 arebeveled to correspond with the bevel of edges 20 and 22 so that when thetop of the box is in the closed position, the bev-. eled edges matchwith each other forming rectangles of the sides of the package (Figure1). When closed, the upper portion of closure 24 has its apical partfitted. beehind the front wall 36 of the box or package top 34. Thisholds the closure 24 in the closed position. .When the top of the box islifted, as by flipping it up with the 'thumb, closure 24 is swungdownwardly as shownin Figure 3. This exposes the front compartment 46within which matches 48 are located and also exposes rear compartment 50within which cigarettes 52 are disposed. Compartments 46 and 50 areseparated from each other by a partition 54 parallel to the back wall 18and attached at at least its bottom edge to the bottom 16 of thepackage. There is an upwardly opening notch 58 at the top edge ofpartition 54 to provide access to the cigarettes 52 in compartment 50.

The matches 48 are in a single row at their upper ends. Their lower endsare integrally joined to two strips 60 and 62 and the front one of thesestrips 60 has a striking surface 64 thereon. The striking surface ismade by an abrasive in the ordinary way. An additional striking surface66 also made by an abrasive, is on the bottom 16. Additional strikingsurfaces can be applied on the back or sides or on the closure 24 of thepackage. As the match stems 68 rise upwardly from their supportingstrips 60 and 62, they are bent so that the heads 70 of the matches arein one plane or substantially contained within one plane. This is sothat the compartment 46 can be made thin. Ordinarily the sulphur at theupper ends of the matches would not permit such a construction becausethe sulphur hangs outwardly from the sides of the match stems.Therefore, the upper ends 72 of each match stem are sloped to form apoint or substantial point (Figure 4). The sulphur 74 can be built up onthese reduced width parts of the match stems 68 so that the same amountof sulphur necessary for igniting the match, can be applied to the matchstems and yet not hang over any substantial amount to the left or rightor the front or back of the match stemso Also, the height of alternatematches is staggered so that there are alternately a long and a shortmatch as shown in Figure 3.

The use of the invention is considered apparent. By flipping open thepackage, the cigarette and matches are exposed. A match can be takenfrom the group of matches, a cigarette taken from compartment 50, andthen the match struck to light the cigarette. To close the package, theclosure 24 is moved upwardly so that it is approximately parallel topartition 54 and then the top 34 of the box flipped downward until thefront wall 36 thereof engages over the upper edge portion 78 of closure24.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous Patented July 14, 11 259modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in theart, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact constructionand operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitablemodifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within thescope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A combination cigarette and match package comprising a container thathas side walls, a bottom wall and an open front, an integral closureattached to the forward edge of said bottom wall and adapted to overlieand close said open front, said closure having an upper locking edge, atop hinged to the back Wall of said container and having a front Wallwhich overlies said locking portion of said closure to hold said closurein the closed position, a partition in said container and substantiallyparallel to the back Wall of said container and separating saidcontainer into a cigarette compartment and a match compartment, matchesin said match compartment, said matches including stems, said matchesbeing alternately long and short in comparison to each other therebystaggering the heads of the matches vertically, and said heads beingsubstantially coplanar in said compartment to occupy a minimum thicknessin said compartment.

2. A cigarette package of claim 1 wherein said partition has an upwardlyopening notch at its upper end to provide ready access to the cigarettein said cigarette compartment when the lid is opened.

3. A combination cigarette and match package comprising a container thathas side Walls, a bottom wall and an open front, an integral closureattached to the forward edge of said bottom wall and adapted to overlieand close said open front, said closure having an upper locking edge, atop hinged to the back wall of said container and having a front wallwhich overlies said locking portion of said closure to hold said closurein the closed position, a partition in said container and substantiallyparallel to the back wall of said container and separating saidcontainer into a cigarette compartment and a match compartment, matchesin said match compartment, said matches including stems, said matchesbeing alternately long and short in comparison to each other therebystaggering the heads of the matches vertically, and said heads beingsubstantially coplanar in said compartment to occupy a thickness in saidcompartment, said each match stern having a reduced upper end, thestriking head on said upper end adhered to said reduced upper end andbeing substantially no wider than the lower part of a match stem.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS255,095 Baker Mar. 21, 1882 1,035,542 Curtiss Aug. 13, 1912 1,619,622MacVey Mar. 1, 1927 2,000,328 Harris May 7, 1935 2,447,787 Atkinson Aug.24, 1948 2,872,097 Graybill Feb. 3, 1959

